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The First Fleet arrived in Australia
They were mostly Irish convicts, together with a few marines. One-tenth of all convicts transported to Australia were Catholic, and half of these were born in Ireland, while a good proportion of the others were English-born but of Irish extraction. Most of the rest were English or Scottish. -
The First Priest arrived in the colony as convicts
One of these Priests, James Dixon, was granted conditional emancipation and permission to say Mass for the Catholics of Sydney, Liverpool and Parramatta on successive Sundays, a practice that continued from 1803 until March 1804, -
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James Dixson rulled the Sudays in Parramatta and Liverpool
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London Goverment appointed chaplins
Fathers John Joseph Therry and Philip Connolly allowed Mass to be celebrated ligally.Their arrival can be regarded as the formal establishment of the Catholic Church in Australia -
Therry and Connolly
At least two Catholic schools were established in the early years of the nineteenth century but neither survived very long, and it was not until after the arrival of Therry and Connolly in 1820 that significant development took place. By 1833, there were about ten Catholic schools in the country. -
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The Catholic Schools expanded across Australia
By 1833, there were about ten Catholic schools in the country. From this time until the end of the 1860s, Catholic schools received some government assistance under a variety of schemes, but campaigns for 'free, secular and compulsory' education had begun in the 1850s and it became increasingly clear that Catholic schools would not be able to rely on government aid for much longer. -
The Good Samritan Sisters
There were already a few religious orders in Australia: as well as the Sisters of Charity, there were also, among others, the Good Samaritan Sisters, founded by Polding in 1857, and the Sisters of St Joseph, founded in 1866 by Fr Julian Tenison Woods and Mary MacKillop, now recognised as Australia's first saint. -
Josphites
By 1871, these 'Josephites' were running thirty-five schools in the Adelaide diocese. -
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States passed Education Act
Between 1872 and 1893, every State passed an Education Act removing state aid to Church schools. This was a turning point for Catholic schools and, indeed, for the Catholic community in Australia. Bishops and people decided to persevere with the Catholic system. With no money to pay teachers, the bishops appealed to religious orders in Ireland and other European countries, and soon religious sisters and brothers were responding to the crisis. -
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Sisters teaching Schools
By 1880, there were a total of 815 sisters from all orders teaching in schools; by 1910 the number exceeded 5000. -
Census Results for Catholics
According to the 1828 Census, out of a total Catholic population of about 10 000, there were 374 adults who had been born in Australia and raised in a totally lay environment, the Catholic faith passed on to them despite the absence of priests. -
Irish Clurgy Dominated Australian Catholic life
Irish clergy dominated Australian Catholic life until fairly recently, and it was not until the 1930s that Australian-born priests outnumbered them. Irish priests continued to come to Australia throughout the twentieth century, a few arriving even in recent years. -
Australian Catholics Boom Time!
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Todays Catholic Community
The outcome of all these changes in society and the Church is that today's Catholic community looks very different from that of the 1950s. -
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Australias Social Change
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Vatican II
The Second Vatican Council, also known as Vatican II, was the most significant twentieth century event in the Catholic Church. Held in Rome from 1962 to 1965,